German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
German Foreign Minister Heiko MaasReuters

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Friday that Iran is "delaying" talks to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal and warned that the option to revive the deal would not remain open forever.

"I see with growing unease that Iran is on the one hand delaying the resumption of nuclear negotiations in Vienna, and on the other moving ever further away from the core elements of the deal," Maas told Der Spiegel in an interview.

"We want a return to the JCPOA, and we are firmly convinced that it is in everyone's interest," he added, referring to the acronym for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is the official name of the 2015 deal.

"What is clear, however, is that this option will not be open to us forever," said Maas.

Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2018, but has been holding indirect talks with the Biden administration on a return to the agreement.

However, Iran recently paused the talks and announced they will not resume before a new government takes office in August, following the presidential elections won by Ebrahim Raisi.

Maas’ comments echo those of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said on Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran "cannot go on indefinitely" but that Washington was "fully prepared" to continue negotiations.

"We're committed to diplomacy, but this process cannot go on indefinitely... we look to see what Iran is ready to do or not ready to do and remain fully prepared to return to Vienna to continue negotiations," Blinken said during a visit to Kuwait.

"The ball remains in Iran's court," he stressed.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)